Carriage-pole



2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

, (No Model.)

G. M. BLYDENBURGH.

GARRIAGE POLE. No. 287,412. Patented Oct. 30, 1883.

I/VVENTOR Q5 4% ZJ% (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

G. M. vBLYDENBURGH.

CARRIAGE POLE.

No. 287.412. Patented Oct. 30,- 1883..

- Attorney UNIT STATES PATENT @rrrcn.

CHARLES M. BLYDEHBURGH, OF RIVERHEAD, NEIV YORK.

CARRIAGE-POLE.

SPECIFICATION forming To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, O. M. BLYDENBURGH, of Riverhead, in the county of Suffolk and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Qarriage-Poles; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains-to make and use the same.

My invention relates to an improvement in carriage-poles, the object of the same being to provide an adjustable pole adapted to be secured to vehicles, the thill-couplings of which are situated at varying distances apart; and it consists in the parts and combinations of parts,

as will be more fully described, and pointed out in the claims.

I11 the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a view in perspective of my improved pole made from a single piece of metal. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same. -Fig. 3 is a planview of a pole made of wood, and Fig. 4 is a side view of the same.

A represents the carriage-pole, the rearend of which is bifurcated and curved, substantially as shown, the outer ends of the arms a, formed by bifurcating the pole, being pro vided with suitable thil1-irons, adapted to register with the thill-couplings on the vehicle. The arms a, in the present instance, are formed integral with the pole, and project rearwardly therefrom, gradually diverging until they pass the spring 0, which will be referred to further on, when they curve downwardly and outwardly and terminate in the thill-irons, as before stated. Thus it will be seen that the thillirons can be adjusted to accommodate them to the thill-couplings of the vehicle by bringing them nearer together or increasing the distance between them, as necessity demands. For the purpose of giving additional strength to the spring-arms, and also for forming a bearing for the hammer or whiffletree-bolt, I have secured the extremities of a V-shaped spring, 0, to the adjacent faces of the arms a, and provided the same with the open bearing 1), through which the whiffletreebolt passes. Immediately above this spring 0, and secured to the upper faces of the arms a, is a similar V-shaped spring, D, provided with a similar bearing for part of Letters Patent No. 287,412, dated October 30, 1 883.

Applicaiion filed August 18, 1 883. (No model.)

the passage of the whiifletree-bolt. This piece D is simply intendedto form abearing for the upper end of the whiffletree-bolt, and instead of being adapted to act as a spring, it can be formed of two parts hinged together at the apex, so as to offer no resistance when increasing or decreasing the distance between the" thill-irons. The" apices or smaller ends of these springs are separated sufficiently for the introduction of the whiffletree, and the spring or bearing D in no wise interferes with the adjustability of the pole. To enable the pole to be adjusted to a vehicle, and also to hold the thill-irons at a predetermined distance apart when the pole is removed from the vehicle, I have employed a bolt, E, which passes horizontally through the arms a, at a point in the rear of the spring 0. This bolt is provided with a head at one end, which bears against the outer face of one of the arms a,while the opposite end of the said bolt is screw-threaded. This screw-threaded end is passed through the other arm a and the nut G screwed thereon. Thus it will be seen that by simply tightening the nut the thill-irons are drawn toward each other and. held so until the nut is loosened. WVhen the nutis loosened, the'arms separate by their own elasticity until their normal position is reached, or until the arm adjacent to the nut strikes the nut, which bars all further separation. From the foregoing it will be seen that one pole constructed as described can be used on difierent vehicles without changing any of the parts, and without any expense to the owner.

This improved pole, instead of being made from "a continuous piece of spring metal, as previously described, can be made of three pieces of metal or wood, as shown in Fig. 3. In this latter form the pole proper is provided with the sharpened or beveled rear end and the shoulders 0, against which the ends of the arms a bear. The ends of the arms a are also beveled, to conform to the shape of the rear end of the pole A, and the said arms are secured to the opposite faces of the pole A by the bolts (1. When the parts are made of wood, the upper or lower faces of the arms a, or both the upper and lower faces, are capped with inetalli'c strips f, held in place by the boltsor rivets g, for the purpose of increasing the strength of the arms. The thill or coupling irons can be secured to the ends of the arms in any desired manner.

By this improvement I am enabled to dispense with the bowand braces usually found on adjustable poles withoutimpairing the efficiency of the pole, and hence it can be constructed at a comparatively small cost.

It is evident that slight changes in the construction and relative arrangement of the several parts might be resorted to without departing from the spirit of my invention; and hence I would have it understood that I do not confine myself to the exact construction shown and described, but consider myself at liberty to make such changes and alterations as fairly fall within the spirit and scope of my invention.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is Y 1. The combination, with a carriage-pol provided at its rear end with curved springarms, of thill-irons rigidly secured to the rear ends of the arms.

2. The combination, with a carriage-pole provided at its rear end with curved springarms, and thill-irons secured to the outer ends of the arms, of a V-shaped spring situated between and secured to the arms, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination, with a carriage-pole provided at its rear end with curved springarms, and thill-irons secured to the outer ends of the arms, of the V-shaped spring situated between and secured to the arms, and provided with a circular opening for the passage of the whiflletree-bolt.

4. The combination, with a carriage-pole arms, and thill-irons secured to the outer ends of the arms, of the V-shaped spring 0 and the bearing D, substantially as set forth.

5. The combination, with a carriage-pole provided at its rear end with curved springarms, and thill-irons secured to the outer ends of the arms, of a bolt for regulating the distance between the thill-irons, substantially as set .forth.

6. The combination, with a carriage-pole provided at its rear end with the curved springarms, and thill-irons secured to the outer ends of the arms, of the spring 0, bearing D, and adj usting-bolt, substantially as set forth.

7. The combination, with the pole A. arms a, secured thereto, and provided with the metallic capping and the thill-coupling irons, of the spring 0, bearing-D, and adjusting-bolt, all of the above parts combined and adapted to operate as described.

8. The combination, with a carriage-pole provided atits rear end with curved springarms, the said arms being capped with metal, of the thill-irons rigidly secured to the rear ends of the arms, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

CHARLES M. BLYDENBURGH.

\Vitnesses:

G. A. Downs, D. N. GAY.

provided at its rear end with curved spring- 0 

